Indians love Bollywood as much as they love cricket. And isn’t it even better when both Bollywood and cricket combine? IPL, being the biggest domestic tournament in the world, let alone India, provides the perfect platform for this involvement.
Just like the normal cricket fans, Bollywood celebrities are seen flocking the stadiums with their families, cheering in the jerseys of their favourite teams. A few of them even own a franchise or two, while the others lend their support based on their hometown or other interpersonal relationships.
Honestly, it is a heart-warming experience for the Bollywood buffs to experience their favourite celebrities supporting their team of choice from the stadium, watching the match with utmost enthusiasm and passion. And for a franchise-based tournament like IPL, which focuses equally on entertainment besides cricket, the face values of B-town celebrities are very much important in popularising the competition, gaining sponsors and much more.
Let’s take a peek at the teams taking part in IPL 2022 and the top Bollywood celebrities backing them:
Mumbai Indians
Owned by Indian business magnate Mukesh Ambani, his wife Nita Ambani and his company Reliance Industries Limited, Mumbai Indians is the most successful team in IPL with 5 trophies in their cabinet. Since this franchise is based in Mumbai, it is very likely that the team is going to attract a chunk of Bollywood celebrities.
Mumbai Indians is backed by Big B himself and his family. Besides Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, Shahid Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Ameesha Patel and Anu Malik are supporters of Mumbai Indians. Recently, actor Ranbir Kapoor extended his support for MI, as his former favourite Delhi Daredevils metamorphosized into Delhi Capitals.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Besides the native supporters, Kolkata Knight Riders enjoys a huge fanbase since the team is owned by the Baadshah of Bollywood. Honestly, what more does a franchise need when it has the backing of King Khan? Shah Rukh Khan, his company Red Chillies Entertainment, Juhi Chawla, and her husband Jay Shetty have been owners of KKR since 2008. They are frequently spotted in the stadium alongside their families, cheering for KKR.
A number of other Bollywood celebrities like Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Hrittik Roshan, Sussanne Khan and Riteish Deshmukh pick KKR as their favourite IPL team.
Chennai Super Kings
Owing to the huge fan following of MS Dhoni, a lot of Bollywood actors decided to opt for Chennai Super Kings as their favourite IPL team. Late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who acted as MS Dhoni in his biopic was a supporter of CSK. Apart from him, Shruti Hassan, Kartik Aaryan, R. Madhavan and Shreyas Talpade cheers for CSK in IPL.
Punjab Kings
Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, being one of the co-owners of Punjab Kings heartily cheers for her team in all the matches. Her friend and colleague, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan also chose to support Punjab Kings in the IPL. Recently, Sunny Leone was spotted in a PBKS jersey during a match. PBKS receives a lot of support from the Punjabi film industry as well.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Led by Indian captain Virat Kohli, it is obvious that Royal Challengers Bangalore enjoys the support of his wife Anushka Sharma, who is seen cheering for his husband and the team during the matches. Bollywood beauties like Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif are also spotted rooting for RCB from the gallery. Former owner Vijay Mallya’s son Sid Mallya used to extend his support for the team alongside his father.
Rajasthan Royals
Although Rajasthan Royals does not sport a lot of celebrity support, the team was owned by Bollywood yoga queen Shilpa Shetty, and certainly at the start of the tournament was one of the favourites to lift the IPL 2022 trophy. Though Shilpa is not the owner anymore, she still follows the team on Instagram and it can be assumed that the team has her back.
Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals, formerly Delhi Daredevils, picked Ranbir Kapoor as their brand ambassador during the inaugural season. However, he does not support the team anymore since the change took place. Apart from Ranbir, Akshay Kumar and Nargis Fakhri are seen cheering for Delhi at times.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad showcases support predominantly from the Tollywood stars rather than Bollywood. However, Tollywood celebrities like Rana Daggubati and Yami Gautam have also acted in Hindi movies and are popular in Bollywood, so we can easily count them in. Tennis star Sania Mirza also supports SRH.
Lucknow Super Giants
The new team captained by KL Rahul has got the back of Rahul’s father-in-law Suneil Shetty. Rapper Badshah has also been spotted wearing Lucknow Super Giants’ jersey before this year’s IPL.
Gujarat Titans
Gujarat Titans is one of those two new teams debuting in this season’s IPL and is yet to get the backing of Bollywood superstars. Actress Natasa Stankovic, who happens to be Hardik Pandya’s wife, roots for this team.
A Unique Blend of Sports and Entertainment
Honestly, it is a heart-warming experience for the Bollywood buffs to experience their favourite celebrities supporting their team of choice from the stadium, watching the match with utmost enthusiasm and passion. And for a franchise-based tournament like IPL, which focuses equally on entertainment besides cricket, the face values of B-town celebrities are very much important in popularising the competition, gaining sponsors and much more.